Fears for engine plant over early end to contract
THE Ford plant in Bridgend will stop making petrol engines for Jaguar Land Rover sooner than expected, it has been announced.
Ford said Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which is owned by Tata Motors, intends to end the arrangement around three months earlier than agreed. It means production of the engines will cease in September 2020.
The union Unite Wales said it brings the “grim future for Ford Bridgend” into focus.
A Ford spokeswoman said the announcement has no immediate implications for jobs but they will be “assessing the repercussions over that change of time”.
It’s another blow for the plant which employs just under 1,800 people and is one of Wales’ biggest employers.
Earlier this year the GMB union leaked plans by Ford to cut the workforce by more than 1,000 to around 600 by 2021. It followed a cut in investment in the new Dragon engine.
Andy Richards, secretary of Unite Wales, said they will “put every resource necessary into ensuring the survival of the Ford Bridgend plant”.
He said: “What is of crucial importance now is that all interested parties work night and day to secure alternative future work for Ford Bridgend. We have been in initial discussions with Ford regarding future work streams, but today’s announcement must ensure that this dialogue is strengthened, intensified and broadened out to involve a supportive Welsh Government.”
Ford said that at its peak in 2015 it provided JLR with half a million engines from Bridgend.
The plant also produces the Sigma engine for the Ford Focus, Cougar and Mondeo models.
A spokeswoman for Ford UK said: “We have informed our unions that Jaguar Land Rover intends to end our petrol engine supply arrangement slightly earlier than expected in late 2020.
“Given our long-established and successful relationship in the delivery of world-class engines, this is disappointing news for the Ford Bridgend Engine Plant. However, as the auto industry is undergoing rapid change, we continue to look at other high technology opportunities for Bridgend in the future.”
The GMB has requested an urgent meeting with Economy Secretary Ken Skates to discuss how to safeguard jobs in the motor industry. GMB regional organiser Jeff Beck said: “Unless alternate contracts are found, this will have a devastating and farreaching impact on the communities in and around Bridgend as well as across south Wales as a whole.”
Mr Skates, said: “Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to terminate its contract with Bridgend Ford three months early is very disappointing. We are calling on JLR to confirm that this move will not sacrifice jobs in Wales and displace them to the West Midlands.
“We remain absolutely committed to doing all we can to protect the Ford plant in Bridgend and continue to be in close contact with the company and the unions.”
In a joint statement Ogmore MP Chris Elmore and AM Huw Irranca-Davies said: “This adds new urgency to the ongoing work with unions and management, supported by Welsh Government, to identify new workstreams and future investment for Bridgend. We call on the UK Government to urgently intervene in this situation.
“If it is the case, as we suspect, that the production of these engines could be relocating to Wolverhampton following a ‘sweetheart deal’ with direct support from the UK Government, this shows a complete contempt for the hard-working Welsh workforce and their families, and a contempt for Wales.”